Democrats sharpen criticism of Vance as they look past Trump to the 2028
presidential campaign
[March 23, 2026]
By JULIE CARR SMYTH and JOEY CAPPELLETTI
FAIRFIELD, Ohio (AP) — Although President Donald Trump is the top
Democratic nemesis, some of the party’s most ambitious leaders are
increasingly looking past him and at Vice President JD Vance.
In the latest example, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear traveled to Vance’s
home county in Ohio, where on Saturday night he said the vice president
had abandoned the communities that he wrote about in the memoir that
made him famous.
Beshear said “Hillbilly Elegy,” which detailed Vance's hardscrabble
upbringing, had “trafficked in tired stereotypes.”
“His book ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ was really hillbilly hate,” the governor
said at a Democratic fundraiser in Butler County. “It is poverty
tourism, because he ain’t from Appalachia.”
The broadside was not only a sign of Beshear’s own potential
presidential aspirations, but a reflection of Vance’s status as the
Republican heir apparent to the coalition that twice elected Trump to
the White House.
“With every day that passes, we get closer to a day when Donald Trump is
no longer president. And we need to prepare for that day,” said Lis
Smith, a Democratic strategist. “Right now, JD Vance is a clear
front-runner for the 2028 nomination. And so we should begin defining
him — not in 2027, not in 2028 — but today.”
Vance spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk brushed off Beshear's criticism as
coming from a flawed messenger.
“Every time Andy Beshear attacks the vice president to try to get
himself publicity, he ends up humiliating himself in the process, but
maybe that’s something he’s into?” she said.
An early foil for Democratic contenders
U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna of California was among the first Democrats to begin
focusing on Vance last year. Khanna stopped at the City Club of
Cleveland and Yale University, where he and Vance studied law, and gave
speeches that attempted to cast Vance as more extreme than Trump.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, another potential presidential contender
in 2028, singled out Vance in November while making the argument that
the Trump administration did not care about working people.
“At least with Donald Trump, he’s transparent about that,” Shapiro said.
“JD Vance is a total phony.”
Some Democrats have coalesced around California Gov. Gavin Newsom as a
strong candidate because of his aggressive strategy in going after
Republicans.
He coined the nickname “JD ‘Just Dance’ Vance" on social media, and he
has mocked the vice president's appearance, saying Vance “grew a beard
and lost his spine."
Smith, the strategist who led Pete Buttigieg's 2020 presidential
campaign and still works with the former Biden administration
transportation secretary, said every line of criticism of Vance is an
audition.
“There's definitely value in taking on Vance to show Democrats, hey,
this could be me on the debate stage against him,” said Smith.
Vance often invokes his working-class roots
The vice president was born and raised in Butler County's Middletown,
and he rose to prominence with the publication of "Hillbilly Elegy” in
2016. The book earned Vance a reputation as someone who could help
explain Trump's appeal in middle America, especially among the working
class, rural white voters who helped Trump win the presidency.
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Vice President JD Vance speaks at EDSI Cables Wednesday, March 18,
2026, in Auburn Hills, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Vance carried that reputation to the U.S. Senate, winning election
in 2022, and later to the vice presidency. That same background is
likely to be central to any future presidential run — and it is
precisely what Democrats are now working to undercut.
At Saturday's Democratic fundraiser, the mere mention of Vance's
name drew a chorus of boos from the audience.
“I don't think he's got the magic that everybody looks at with
Trump,” said Theresa Vacheresse, a retired physician and business
owner who attended the event. “I think when Trump is gone, the
Democrats might have a chance. My god, I hope so.”
The focus on Vance is not unusual for a vice president widely seen
as a potential future nominee, particularly one as young as 41.
Republicans went after Kamala Harris early in her tenure under
President Joe Biden to undermine her political future.
Jamal Simmons, Harris’ communications director in 2022 and 2023,
said vice presidents can be vulnerable.
“The party is built to defend the president more than it is the vice
president,” he said. “The vice president's kind of out there on
their own, to defend themself, and find friends where they can.”
Republicans, including Vance, frequently tied Harris to some of the
Democratic administration’s most politically difficult issues, such
as immigration and border security.
“Being vice president is a very mixed blessing," said David Axelrod,
who was a top adviser to Democratic President Barack Obama. “You
often don't have the assets of the president, but you inherit all of
the president's record. The good, the bad, and the ugly.”
Beshear has had success in Trump country
Beshear is the rare Democrat to lead a red state, and he is
positioning himself as someone who can reach voters who have tuned
out his party.
He said Democrats can “actually go and win back those voters that JD
Vance is so condescending to” if they stay focused on Americans'
basic needs such as affordable health care and public safety.
“We've gotta start talking to people and not at them," he said.
“That’s how I won counties in eastern Kentucky that normally vote
for Republicans by large margins — including Breathitt County.
That's the county JD Vance pretends to be from. Donald Trump won it
by 59 points. I won it by 22 points the year earlier.”
The audience appeared delighted with Beshear's message.
“I think he's first-rate,” said Mark Kaplan, who lives in Butler
County. “What he's got is compassion, empathy, charisma and
intellect, but he's also down-to-earth.”
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Cappelletti reported from Washington.
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